The Jeddie Aftermath how things could have ended
by The Happy Donut
Summary: Because I absolutely HATED the way ABC ended things with J E, before I began "Afterboom and then some" which I'm quite proud of I needed a quick-fix for how I felt. Yep TV addict symptoms 101. I just forgot to post it. Here goes! Hope you like it!


_**[Author's Note: This little clipping has nothing to do with my other epic "Afterboom..." story. But this is just a quick-fix for ABC's major cock-up. Also, bear in mind that I have written this story from Janet's perspective because I reckon she's the single most profound character on TV I relate to best.]**_

_**The Jeddie Aftermath**_

I sat there in my living room in the dark for what seemed like forever. Every time I pictured him kiss her a fresh batch of tears flooded my eyes. How could Eddie do this to me? After I asked him - I BEGGED him not to go out with me if he knew he was going to hurt me. He knew everything I was about, all my insecurities, my history with guys (or lack thereof) and he still did this to me. Tears streamed down my face now like an unstoppable wave of profound sadness.

Just then, I heard a knock at the door. I couldn't move, so I just waited. Another knock? A purr from Mrs. McHusky's cat? I didn't know what I was waiting for. Maybe I was just waiting for the person at the door to miraculously know how miserable I was, and come bursting in and console me. Suddenly I wished it wasn't the cat.

There was a second knock at the door and this time it followed Eddie's unmistakable husky voice.

"Janet!"

My eyes flew open. Why was he here? What possible good reason would he have for showing up here? He couldn't see me like this. I did not want to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much he means to me. I waited some more.

"Janet!"

I stood up slowly, walked towards the living room door, and quietly turned on the lights. The sudden flash of brightness blinded me for a moment so I staggered out into the foyer. I did a quick double take in the mirror on the wall and saw that my eyes were bloodshot and my mascara had made its way right to my jaw line. I quickly wiped it away as best I could and opened the door.

Eddie stood casually shifting his weight from foot to foot and a hand in his pocket.

"What goes on, Janet?" he said, before he saw the look on my face and his smile vanished.

I had no words. Or at least no words that one would use in a civil conversation, so I left him standing at the door and walked back into the living room. It didn't take long for him to follow me in.

"What's wrong?"

My eyes sparked. "I don't know. Why don't you tell me, Eddie? You seem to be pretty busy these days; it only seems fair that you go first." I snarled.

"What are you talking about? I just came by to see you because I hadn't seen you all day."

"Really? And why do you think that was, EDDIE?"

"Okay it really freaks me out when people say my name like that." He joked.

"Was it because Nick's agent was back in town and you just HAD to spend quality time with him?"

"Yeah, he's talkin' about taking Nick back to New York-"

"Or maybe it was because this case of broken glass keeps showing up at the store and you can't seem to get rid of it?"

"Well actually, defected windows and-"

"No wait. I know - it's because your ex-girlfriend Rory Dunlop is back in town and you were too busy kissing her to stop and think, 'hmm...I wonder what Janet would would say if she saw us right now?'" I finished.

Silence. Eddie just stared at me with eyes I remember I once saw warmth and softness in. The only pair of eyes in the whole world that could make me smile without even trying. But today, nothing. A mere ghost of those eyes stared back at me now. He wasn't saying anything. He didn't have to deny it; I could see it in his face.

"Let me explain. I didn't kiss her. What you saw was her kissing-"

"Please", I spat. "Don't bother fabricating lies, why can't you and your kind just tell the truth for once?" I began to cry again.

"I'm not lying, Janet if you could just let me explain"

"You know what the worst part is Eddie? Rory stopped by the bar and asked me if you were seeing anybody, and then she told me that you looked sad when she met you earlier. If only she knew that she was looking at the reason for your sadness." Now I really broke down.

"No, hey, c'mon Janet, she doesn't know what she's talking about." He walked over to me and tried to pull me into his arms. I never thought I would see the day when I'd resist those strong arms wrapped around me. But I did. I had to. I couldn't let him hurt me again. Somehow, I knew that if I let him that close, that's exactly what I'd be doing. I pulled away and crouched on the floor. At some point during this horrendous fight, I picked up a cushion, maybe subconsciously aiming to throw it at his head.

"Do you remember the day we first kissed? It was the same day you were upset about Nick and Ikey and you told me that you realised that you were a sad person. But when you were with me, you weren't sad anymore. I remember thinking, 'how unbelievable is that? His world is slightly better because of me'. I didn't want to go out with you until that moment because I thought you saw me as some charity case.

But after that I saw you as the one guy who I thought would never hurt me."

He turned around and walked out of the room. I listened for the slam of the front door but instead I heard the kitchen faucet turning on. I looked up and tilted my head so that I could see what was going on around the bend of the doorway. All I could see was his back. My crying subsided considerably and I just rocked back and forth with the cushion clutched close to my body like a shield.

The next thing I knew, Eddie was walking over to me with a kitchen towel in his hand. He crouched down on the floor and gently pried the cushion out of my hands and set it on the couch. He sat on the floor and gently lifted my chin with his fingers so I had to look at him. But as stubborn as I was, I kept my eyes fixated on his knees. If I looked up at him, I knew that I wouldn't stay mad at him. And I really wanted to be mad at him right now.

With the towel in his hand, he gently dabbed my face to take off the mascara. I didn't know what to do. No one had ever done something like that for me, so what was I meant to do? I slowly raised my eyes to meet his, and I was stunned to see tears in his eyes.

"How could you possibly think that I would cheat on you? You need to look at me. And know that I would never do that to you. Janet this is only going to work if we trust each other. We can't know everything about each other all the time. I know I should have told you about her. But just because I didn't tell you straight away doesn't mean that I'm gonna dump you for Rory. She kissed me, Janet. I don't know if you stayed around long enough to see what happened next but I ended it and told her I was seeing someone."

"That still doesn't change the fact that she said that you seemed sad Eddie." I said softly. "Is she right? Aren't you happy in this relationship anymore? Because if it is please tell me now. I need to know."

"Janet I'm happier to be sitting right here with you right now than I am to be kissing any girl who strolls into town. Rory comes in for a few hours and makes observations and you believe them? I was dead wrong about not telling her about us, and I was even more wrong about not telling you about her. But the only reason that I might have looked sad is because she really hurt me when she left. And she wouldn't stop talking about the old days when we were together. That's the sadness she might have seen." He scooted closer to me and put his arms around me. I didn't resist this time. I looked up at him and he smiled that sexy smile that always made me melt. Only this time it was so tender that I trembled. He kissed me on my forehead and I thought of our first date.

"I remember that day at Sully's. I remember everything about that moment from what you wore to how you looked when we kissed. I remember everything. I remember everything because that's the day I realised I didn't want to be any place you're not."

I looked up at him and stared and he smiled and lowered his lips to mine. I loved the feel of his lips against mine when we kissed. I felt warm all over and I felt so safe. Like nothing could touch me because he was there to protect me. We sat there for what seemed like hours just wrapped up in each other's arms and my head against his chest just listening to the beat of his heart.

"I'm so sorry" he said softly.

"Hmm. Me too." I kissed him again and somewhere in the darkness, I drifted off to sleep in his arms.


End file.
